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User blog:Pikazilla/Spartan vs Ninja Review
Spartan Spartans are quite possible the perfect ‘Heavy Tank’ of the Bronze Age. Evens Athens, the other Hoplite superpower, hid behind their Long Walls because they didn’t want to fight the Spartans on land: and even then the Spartans tore down those walls! This would be a very impressive siege considering that Greek Hoplites has two of the best weapons for defense; the Dory spear and the Aspis shield. To score a kill against a Spartan; you need to avoid getting stabbed by the spear, get around the shield, and then avoid the armor. 3 different ways to fend off an enemy. Also keep in mind that a shield-bash can push the enemy back, and maintain the range advantage of the spear. Mid to Close-Range combat is what Spartans specialize in. The Dory isn’t the longest spear, but doesn’t need to be: the Spartan can just block enemy pikes, then engage close if the enemy insists on advancing. Waiting for an enemy charge is what this wall of bronze is meant to do, then to outlast their enemy. The Dory is double-sided to allow the Spartan to last for a longer time, and the Spartan still has a sidearm in the Xiphos. You would think hiding behind a sheltered defense and waiting for your enemy to tire-out would be the mentality of cowards; but Spartans are the exact opposite. Their training, discipline and brutality gives them a fighting style that is strong and determined but not reckless. Weaknesses It is easy to assume that having the best armor and shield makes you invincible; but I do see several flaws with the Spartan Hoplite. The thighs and arms of Hoplites were rarely armored, although this was normally due to their shield protecting them anyways. Corinthian helmets were great at resisting arrows, but limited a Hoplite’s vision significantly. The biggest issue with the Spartan is inflexibility. Spartans can indeed block archers, however his Javelin is rather pitiful compared to an arrow, especially in terms of range. Spartans can’t really do anything against archers except sit and wait. Spartans were designed to hold position; advancing would be very slow and predictable. Ignoring horsemen; a Hoplite’s kryptonite might be the Pilum. This and other Heavy Javelins will weigh down the shields they imbed in, making that shield worthless. A Spartan is so dependent on his shield that historically, a Spartan that lost his Aspis would be punished for incompetence. The Dory is best when combined with this protection; otherwise it is a very standard spear. The Xiphos is basically a dagger, it is a pathetic sidearm but it is better than nothing. A Hoplite is defined by that shield. With that said; it’s such a good shield that it would be difficult to get rid of it from a hulking, experienced Spartan. Ninja So much hype, too much overhype. I just want to start with the disclaimer; superhuman Ninja feats were intentionally false propaganda that the Ninjas themselves created to intimidate enemies. The ability to deflect bullets with a sword is physically impossible; even if the scenario was heavily controlled, there is no evidence to confirm this. Ki / Chakra energy, teleportation, afterimages, cloning, and anything else of the sort is impossible. If it was possible; why not use these magical techniques with modern Special Forces? Why hasn’t modern science recreated Jutsus? Now with that out of the way… Samurai were a very strict and repressive upperclass society, and most clans did not give a crap about their peasants. Revolts in Japan were common, but normally quickly put down. However certain minorities, especially those living entrenched in the mountains, were able to defend themselves and evolve their gruella tactics in secrecy. Unfortunately it is this secrecy that makes the Ninja difficult to research. However it is clear that stealth and agility is what they prioritized in, since it has been confirmed multiple times that Japanese peasants could not conventionally defeat a skilled, wealthy and armored Samurai. Ninja had to use what they could find and modify it to fit their needs. Farming scythes, grain thrashers, bamboo, coins, natural poisons, broken glass and even hotpeppers were just a handful of the literally hundreds of tools and weapons a Ninja had. But again; with a lack of money, these peasants couldn’t afford what the basic soldier could have. Ninjas still adapted regardless of the situation. Since they couldn’t afford heavy weapons or armor, it only made sense to be agile. Now the Ninja can’t dodge bullets, but he can escape from dangerous encounters thanks to his stunning weapons like Shuriken and Black Egg. The Ninja then can reposition himself for an ambush or assassination. Ninjas also had techniques that allowed them to disarm or confuse opponents; allowing even the best Samurai to be temporarily vulnerable to attack. Weaknesses I remember a TMNT episode that specifically dealt with a villain using armor. Splinter confirmed that the Ninja had few options in destroying armor, and so had to work around it. While Ninja were indeed resourceful; armor is indeed difficult to deal with when the Ninja has very few options at long-ranged lethality. The problem with engaging at point-blank range against a tank is that while the enemy has gaps in his armor; the Ninja himself has little to no armor AT ALL. The Ninja is so dependent on speed that any crippling injury will spell his death, simply because he can’t retreat from the losing battle. As mentioned before: the Ninja doesn’t have many options in fighting back against an enemy with a range advantage. The Ninja could compensate this by sneaking, but not every biome or battlefield will have this option available. The Ninja isn’t immune to ambushes either. The Apache might be a good counter against the Ninja simply because the Apache is lethal at all ranges and BOTH are so good at stealth that it cancels each other’s out. Finally; that shield. The Spartan Aspis is not what the Ninja was expecting. A Ninja never dealt with shields, and the Aspis is MASSIVE. The Samurai is not the tankiest warrior out there; a Spartan or a Knight will be able to survive the Ninja’s ambushes, even if they are too slow to chase him down. Category:Blog posts